Tipaimukh dam: Protest against Indian HC’s remark

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/06/05/news0196.htm

Tipaimukh dam: Protest against Indian HC’s remark

Sylhet Division Development Action Council yesterday brought out a red flag procession protesting the Indian step to construct Tipaimukh Dam. NN photo

DU Correspondent

Sylhet Division Development Action Council (SDDAC) yesterday demanded removal of Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakrabarti for his controversial speech on Tipaimukh dam issue against the interest of Bangladesh.

They called upon the Government to take initiatives to stop the construction of the dam to protect the people of 16 districts of northern and eastern regions of the country from desertification saying that the government should raise the issue in the international forum.

The demand was made at a protest programme in front of the National Press Club in the city organised by SDDAC protesting the construction of Tipaimukh dam at the upper reaches of Surma and Kushiara Rivers.

Former Chairman of Privatisation Commission Enam Ahmed Chowdhury attended the programme as chief guest with President of SDDAC Advocate Abed Raza in the chair. Environment Researcher Ifma Hossain, Journalist Khairul Islam Chowdhury, President of Sylhet Division Development Student Action Council EH Jasim, Advocate Selim Newas Chowdhury, Jayeda Abed, Jubair Ahmed and Saiful Faruki attended it among others.

Enam Ahmed Chowdhury said when the people of the country are protesting the construction of Tipaimukh dam, then some ministers and Indian High Commissioner are delivering the controversial speech on the issue.

He called upon the people to be united to form a strong movement against the construction of the dam.

The speakers said that if the government did not take initiatives to stop the construction of dam, they would launch tough movement.

After the demonstration, a memorandum was submitted to Foreign Minister from the organisation calling to take initiatives from the government to stop the construction of the dam and to remove the Indian High Commissioner.

Local firm grabs a portion of world toy mkt

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/06/05/68785.html

Local firm grabs a portion of world toy mkt

Munima Sultana

Hathey Bunano, a local social enterprise, aims to grab a good portion of the billion dollar world market of handmade toys and create employment for rural women in Bangladesh.

A blend of the local resources and foreign expertise, it has already generated jobs for 3,500 rural women throughout the country, including in the ‘char’ areas.

Within three years of its inception with a personal investment of US$ 500, Hathey Bunano has increased its annual turnover to US 0.4 million in 2008. The production capacity is now 35,000 pieces a month, CEO Samantha Morshed said at her lone urban centre in the city’s Notun Bazar on Tuesday.

Hathey Bunano, first infant toy company of its kind in the country, now produces certified hand-crocheted and hand knitted toys for infants of one to six years of age and sells those to the world famous retail shops in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. It is now trying to popularise its own brand ‘Pebble’ in the $100 billion toy market.

The experience of Hathey Bunano was shared in the Global Philanthropy Forum held in Washington of the Unites States last April and generated interest from institutions like ICICI Foundation, Thermaz India and IMFR in India.

British born Samantha said 96 per cent of the products are now exported to the US, UK and Australia, which has been possible due to ensuring quality. She said due to high overseas demand the enterprise cannot now enter into the local market.

Educated in physics and economics, Samantha uses the locally available raw materials and human resources to give value addition to the products.

The success behind this social enterprise as a profitable business entity has been the prevention of economic migration, which has contributed to family ties. This is unlike the readymade garment sector that has lured people to migrate to the urban areas.

Samantha Morshed earned an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), accorded by the Queen of England for her services in creating rural employment.

Some 3,500 women, mainly hardcore poor, make the export quality toys under a network of 34 rural cooperatives. Factories of these products have been set up within the community using locally available resources like bamboo, mud, tins etc. It consumes minimum electricity and gives flexible time for work, and provides scope to cope with different crisis like monga, cyclone, the CEO said claiming that the women effected in the recent cyclone Aila have been identified within the Hathey Bunano network and given assistance to help them survive the economic losses.

Tipaimukh dam to destroy ecology: experts

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jun/04/nat.html#2

Tipaimukh dam to destroy ecology: experts
Staff Correspondent

Commissioning of the planned Tipaimukh dam by India will escalate socio-economic and political tension in India’s north-eastern states and also Bangladesh, and imperil the ecology of the region, green campaigners said.

After sounding this note of caution, a leading environmentalist on Wednesday demanded that New Delhi must make public all the documents on the Tipaimukh hydro-electric project and Dhaka should raise its voice against such an ecologically destructive project in the country’s interest.

‘We will definitely protest against it in collaboration with the rights groups in India. If the construction of this dam is allowed, it will instigate insurgents like ULFA as we have seen in the past,’ said Muzaffar Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Paribesh Abdolon, on the sidelines of a roundtable on climate change at the office of the Communist Party of Bangladesh.

Referring to widespread resentment in Manipur and other states of north-eastern India caused by the planned mega-project, he warned that Bangladesh might be a victim of the socio-economic repercussions of the dam.

‘I talked to Medha Patkar [environmental campaigner] who has called for resistance against such a dangerous project through people-to-people contact,’ said Muzaffar, adding that the Indian civil society organisations would extend their support to those who oppose the building of the dam.

Citing the example of the Farakka Barrage that has deprived Bangladesh its due share of water, he predicted that the Tipaimukh dam would allow hardly any flow of water during the dry season and eject excess water during the rainy season, leading to drought and flood respectively.

‘We have had a bitter experience with regard to the Kaptai Dam project that created a social crisis and led to displacement of the ethnic minority people. Whatever profit India wants to make by generating 50,000 megawatts of electricity will eventually result in devastating consequences for the people in this part of the world,’ said Muzaffar.

The meeting, presided over by CPB’s president Manjurul Ahsan Khan, called for preparation of a people’s charter incorporating various aspects of the effects of climate change and the measures to mitigate them.

‘Political parties should play an enhanced role in promoting the country’s cause in an issue which is a question of life and death for us. But it is solvable,’ he said.

Turkey’s investors offered spl zone

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jun/03/busi.html#7

Turkey’s investors offered spl zone
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka

Bangladesh offered special economic zone for Turkish investors under an initiative to enhance the bilateral trade to over one-billion US dollars from the current lowly annual turnover worth $512 million.

Commerce minister Farukh Khan made the offer during a bilateral meeting with Turkish foreign trade minister Zafer Caplayan on the sidelines of the Trade Ministers Summit in the Turkish capital.

After the meeting, Khan told UNB that the government may find a place in Iswardi or Mongla for the Turkish Special Economic Zone.

The Turkish minister responded positively to Dhaka’s offer. Turkey, a new entrant in the European Union, is now the 6th largest economy in Europe and 16th in the world.

Bangladesh is now enjoying trade surplus with Turkey, a Muslim-majority country blessed with a vantage position as gateway to the East (particularly the oil-rich Middle East) and the West.

In reply to a question Khan said the next meeting of the Bangladesh-Turkey Joint Economic Cooperation will be held in Ankara in November when ‘entire range of economic cooperation will be discussed’.

Turkish officials here said they prefer direct airlines between Dhaka and Istanbul to boost the volume of bilateral trade.

Our relations with China: Unexplored potential

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=90797

Our relations with China: Unexplored potential

Photo:bd.china-embassy

Syed Munir Khasru

EXTERNAL aid forms about 50% of ADP of Bangladesh, constituting more than 2% of GDP, leading to strong presence of donors in the country. A significant portion of the aid goes to the health, education, infrastructure, and social sectors. We need further and diversified support that will accelerate growth, since about half the population is still stricken by poverty, with nearly one-third underemployed. If we do need further help, then from whom should we seek it?

In our own region, we have a miracle story about a country with a long history and tradition, facing many of the same problems which we are facing now, if not more: poverty, surplus labour, over- population, backward agriculture, lack of food security, natural disasters, weak industrial base etc. The miracle lies in the fact that in just over 2 decades not only were these problems mitigated, but the country also became one of the largest and most robust and resilient economies in the world. It is the People’s Republic of China that we are talking about, the third largest economy after US and Japan, with a nominal GDP of $4.3 trillion (2008) when measured in exchange-rate terms.

China has been the fastest-growing nation for the past quarter of a century with an average annual GDP growth rate above 10%. Major reforms which began in the 1980s enabled hundreds of millions to be lifted out of poverty, which went down from 53% in 1981 to 2.5% in 2005, nearly 20-fold decrease, an achievement unmatched in poverty alleviation. Infant mortality rate fell by 39.5% between 1990 and 2005, and maternal mortality by 41.1%. Access to telephone rose by 94-fold, to 57.1%. At the same time, China invested heavily on developing its human capital, an integral part of a modern economy. The student population in higher learning has doubled in a very short period and is one of the largest in the world.

China is a close ally of Bangladesh, offering infrastructural support, technical assistance, financial aid, military assistance and other forms of aid. In 2005, China emerged as the number one import source for Bangladesh, overtaking India for the first time. By 2008, China-Bangladesh trade volume reached over $4.68 billion.

On the diplomatic front, 2005 was declared a “China- Bangladesh Friendship Year,” marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. A firm believer in the one China policy, Bangladesh can gain much from this relationship. Since China rose rapidly from a situation not much different from our current predicament, it is of paramount importance that we effectively learn from the Chinese experience of reform and economic development.

In agriculture, there is much room to collaborate, considering that China is highly acclaimed for its ability to feed its growing population despite limited natural resources. Given China’s strong agricultural research base, Bangladesh can benefit by developing a mechanism whereby we can tap into their research programs to transfer relevant learning to Bangladesh.

China can also help develop our human resource by offering increased technical support. It has numerous high powered, strong, and active policy research institutions that help the government in key decision making. Such institutions can help Bangladesh develop its capacity to effectively formulate, evaluate, and monitor policies. This will help us deal effectively with exogenous shocks like natural calamities or financial crisis.

Historically, Bangladesh has not performed well in trade negotiations — either multilateral or bilateral. The Chinese have proved themselves to be some of the smartest trade negotiators, who have successfully worked out trade deals that have propelled domestic production and benefited overseas consumers. Particularly, Chinese experience in effectively negotiating FTAs with countries like Australia and New Zealand can provide helpful insights to our policymakers as the South Asian regional trade still has much to achieve when compared to other trade regimes.

Re-branding is another area where Bangladesh can learn from China. For example, China has been quite often cited as one of the major polluters of the environment. China has re-branded itself as an environmentally proactive nation by enlisting with the Kyoto Protocol. By adopting the Kyoto Protocol, China has developed the image of an environment-friendly economy, which in turn has increased acceptability of products exported from China.

Similar lessons from China can be taken on re-positioning with respect to the RMG sector. While Bangladesh mostly continues to cater to low-end products in the international market, China has increasingly shifted towards catering to high-end products, enjoying increased profitability. Our RMG entrepreneurs, instead of asking for cash subsidy while underpaying the workers, can learn much by analysing the value additive strategies of RMG sector entrepreneurs of China.

China has successfully implemented a well thought out strategy of making large investments in its public infrastructure, which has led to greater output, more private investments, and higher employment.

In view of the recent emphasis of the Bangladesh government on using public-private partnership to spur economic growth, the role of the Chinese public sector in this regard can provide useful leads.

The Chinese economy also has substantially benefited by the manufacturing sector, which is backed up by an endogenous culture that supports reverse engineering — thereby making China the largest exporter of electronic appliances.

While there is a tendency to emulate the Western models of economic development, countries like China and South Korea provide better examples to learn from. Because of greater commonality in the social, economic, and cultural arenas, chances are better that learning from such experience of industrial growth and economic development would not only be more relevant but also more rewarding for Bangladesh. Cooperation with China needs to be exploited further to the mutual advantage of both the countries.

Syed Munir Khasru is a Professor at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka.

Textile yarn producers overcome difficulties, plan major expansion

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/06/01/68402.html

Textile yarn producers overcome difficulties, plan major expansion

Kayes M Sohel

The country’s textile yarn manufacturers have come out unscathed from one of the worst crisis in the industry’s history and have now unveiled a slew of new plants, pinning hopes on apparel sector’s further expansion.

Two months back the spinning industry — numbering around 300 plants and producing nine million tonnes of yarn a year — were counting losses every day, as cheap Indian yarn invaded Bangladesh, pushing local yarn to pile up in factory go-downs.

A stagnant export growth of apparel items due to the impact of global recession coupled with strong Taka have also made their products at least 20 per cent costlier than their Indian counterparts.

But in the past six weeks, local yarn spinners have pulled off one of the strongest comeback that the country’s industry has ever seen, thanks largely to the government’s restrictions on yarn import through Benapole port.

“We are now close to a happy ending of what was initially a very difficult year for the country’s yarn spinners,” said Masudur Rahman, executive director, Delta Spinners Ltd, one of the country’s leading listed spinning manufacturer.

Rahman said cheap cotton prices in the international market had also helped, as they sought to ramp up production to recoup the losses they incurred between October and March this fiscal year.

“Almost every manufacturer I talked to are expecting a rise in profits and annual turnover. Many are trying to expand production to bring down overhead cost and be as competitive as their Indian counterparts,” he said.

Delta Spinners has recently announced that it would modernize, renovate and expand its existing spinning units.

The company also plans to raise Tk 452 million from the stock markets to set up a new knitting unit by making fresh initial public offering (IPO) and issuing rights shares.

Another listed textile company Metro Spinning, a sister concern of Maksons Group, also plans to set up an export-oriented composite textile unit, a forward linkage for the yarn maker.

“We are setting up a composite textile plant to make sure that we don’t face the same troubles in future that we faced in the past few months,” said Mohd Mohsin Adnan, executive director and company secretary of Metro Spinning.

The company struggled to sell its yarn to local garment makers early this year and saw its ware-house building up a big inventory.

The sour experience has forced the company to go into composite knitting plant so that it can consume its own yarn.

The unit is expected to start commercial operations by September 2010. It will produce 8.7 million yard finished fabric from yarn.

Adnan said Bangladesh apparel exports would bounce back fast from an indifferent 2008-9 fiscal year, as its major competitors including China are already losing out due to higher labour cost.

“Bangladesh exports will be the first to make gains as soon as the world textile market bottoms out. We have readied plans to make better use of the forthcoming opportunities,” Adnan.

The Metro Spinning is projected to make a net profit of Tk 108 million in the first year, Tk 121 million in the second, Tk 135 million in the third and Tk 149 million in the fourth from the expanded unit.

It will raise Tk 310 million from the stock market by issuing rights shares to set up the new unit in Rupganj, Narayanganj. But it needs approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Manufacturers said Malek Spinning Mills Limited, Square Textiles, Noman Group, Bulbul Textile and ACS Textile had also unveiled plans to install production units.

Masud Advani, chairman of ACS Textile, said China’s gradual withdrawal from the low-cost garment items has made Bangladesh the chosen destination for buyers of such products.

“Low-end products are getting expensive in China due to financial recession. So, buyers are now casting their eyes on the South Asian countries, particularly Bangladesh,” he said.

ACS Textile is diversifying into home textile such as bedsheets and towels, as the country’s existing plants are already doing much better than India, Sri-Lanka and Pakistan.

A breakthrough in building

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=90566

A breakthrough in building

Steel coil is being shaped in line with the customer requirements at a construction site. ALM Steel Building Technology Ltd has brought in Automatic Building Machine technology to construct an infrastructure within a short span with a small manpower and lower costs. ALM

Md Hasan

It is an architectural feat a Bangladeshi company has brought in. Only a small group of 20 people can build a 10,000- square feet steel building, spending just four to five days — whatever it is — industrial unit, warehouse or even an indoor stadium.

With a rapid construction ability, the new Automatic Building Machine (ABM) technology can also save 40 to 50 percent costs depending on size compared to conventional construction or prefabricated steel buildings.

A business idea comes through someone having the ability to take risks and challenges. And his or her idea also runs the risk of making the new technology popular in terms of cost effectiveness. The initiator believes that the new generation businessmen will be willing to explore the latest technology considering global cost-cutting strategies.

HM Jahidul Islam, managing director of ALM Steel Building Technology Ltd, started business of making conventional prefabricated steel buildings in 2002 after completing his graduation from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in civil engineering.

“ABM is completely a new idea in Bangladesh. But its advantages turned me optimistic to make it available in the country,” said Islam who has so far bagged orders worth over Tk 2 crore in different parts of the country for constructing nine such units.

At the end of 2007, Islam found a US company doing something different, which he thought could be a new business opportunity in Bangladesh for building low-cost steel infrastructure. Islam then communicated with the US-based MIC Industries Inc and got positive response.

MIC Industries Inc is the inventor of ABM technology. Now, more than 60 countries use MIC’s technology to fabricate and construct institutional, industrial, agricultural, recreational, commercial and military buildings.

However, Islam did not hurry to bring the technology, as he himself was not much aware of it. Following the US company’s advice, Islam had to pass the year 2008 for training him in China on ABM technology.

Coming back to Bangladesh, Islam abandoned his old venture Nirman Koushali and set up ALM Steel Building to introduce ABM technology in the country with 30 employees of his previous company.

He chose some areas for introducing ABM technology such as industrial workshops, warehouses, housing projects, gymnasiums, basketball courts, swimming pools, markets, shopping malls, bus stations, grain storages, dairy firms, equipment storages, airports and borders posts.

According to him, his background in the steel industry helped him a lot to introduce the new technology. Making a big infrastructure within a short span also surprised his clients.

“It’s just like a magic,” said Nurul Karim, consultant of Sadia Trading and managing director of DK Architect Ltd, adding that ABM technology is self-supported and therefore no framing is required.

“A big infrastructure can be set up within only four to five days with less than 35 percent costs. And so, we went for ABM technology,” he said. Sadia Trading’s warehouse was the ALM’s first project in Bangladesh where ABM technology was used.

Islam explained why his company brought ABM technology from the US company along with some other required machines from China and Korea.

ABM is a self-contained manufacturing technology on wheels and capable of fabricating and assembling an entire building at the construction site.

“When a customer confirms an order, we move to the site with a group of 20 workers and then construct the steel building in line with the customer’s required design,” said Islam.

“We will be able to make an infrastructure even in a day once our workers become fully skilled,” he said.

ALM uses high-tensile and high-intensified steel coil imported from China and Korea. The steel coil is shaped through ABM machine as per the customer’s requirements and set through automatic seam-locking technology.

Islam said the ABM technology uses an integrated microprocessor to produce unique structures from various designs with ground-to-ground and self-supporting panels that require no beams, trusses, columns, nuts, bolts, fasteners, screws or sealants.

ABM technology meets high safety standards including European compliances. ABM buildings are virtually maintenance-free, since they are watertight, rust-free, earthquake-resilient and fireproof, said Islam.

Bangladesh’s steel building industry has an annual turnover of Tk 100 crore. But maximum of the works are foreign company-dependent.

“If we can make ABM popular in Bangladesh, a big amount of foreign currency will be saved as ABM costs 30 to 50 percent less than conventional technology,” Islam said.

In near future, Islam hopes, industrial sector would be the main customer of ABM technology for its cost effectiveness.

“But the technology can do much for the low-income people of the country,” he said. From his own experiences from visiting various countries, Islam is now planning to provide low-cost housing facilities to the rural people through the ABM technology.

A steel-made house will give more lifetime than a conventional tin-made house with at least 35 percent lower cost.

hasan@thedailystar.net

Deadly game with nation s fate

http://www.weeklyholiday.net/2009/290509/front.html

Deadly game with nation s fate

M. Shahidul Islam

It s like watching a movie already seen twice. Or, it could be the recurrence of a hellish nightmare? The reasons that had compelled the last BNP-led Government not to approve the proposed Asian Highway in December 2005 remain alive, but the AL-led regime has agreed in principle to approve the three different routes, only to turn the entire country into a virtual corridor of India.

The Communication Ministry on May 21 made the decision following a meeting in which roads and railway secretary ASM Ali Kabir and senior officials from the foreign, defence, home and finance ministries, ERD, roads and highways and railway departments were present. Following the meeting, Communication Minister Abul Hossain, as well as a spokesperson of the ministry, confirmed that the Government had approved the scheme in principle. It s a deadly game with nation s fate.

Whither Asian Highway from Japan to Turkey?
The decision is dangerous both on counts of its historicity and the cost and benefit calculations. Since the proposal for the Asian Highway was mooted first in 1959, some 15 countries, including Pakistan, became founding members by signing the agreement. Bangladesh too is considered a founding member by virtue of its integration with Pakistan until 1971. Then, following decades of vacillation and bargaining, the United Nations Economic and Social Council for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) managed to draft an Intergovernmental Agreement for the 1,41,000 kilometers-long roadways that would crisscross many Asian countries from Japan to Turkey, to reach the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the continent of Europe.

Connectivity with India
As the move intensified with the tempest of globalization whipping the world in the last decade, a total of 27 nations ratified their participation (32 had signed so far) by 2004 while the deadline for Bangladesh expired in December 2005 following the BNP-led alliance Government s negation to accept the proposed route on ground that it would compromise country s national security by turning Bangladesh a virtual transit and corridor of India.

The economic and infrastructural viabilities too did not favour a positive decision from Dhaka. For, of the three routes proposed by the UNSECAP for Bangladesh – AH1, AH2 and AH 41   two of them serve solely Indian interests at the cost of harming economic and geopolitical interests of Bangladesh.

Being surrounded by India from all sides excepting the Sea to the south and the limited outlet with the Myanmar, the BNP-led alliance regime decided instead to pursue aggressively to linking Bangladesh with Myanmar in order to reach the Far Eastern countries as part of a comprehensive Look East policy.

Sources say that decision was based on three major factors: First, various bilateral deals have already made connectivity with India easier over the preceding decades, without yielding better economic opportunities for Bangladesh. Secondly: Dhaka s main concern was how to connect landlocked Nepal, Bhutan and the Indian North East with Chittagong and Mongla ports to integrate those economies with the regional mainstream. Third: Bangladesh could reach the Asian mainland only via Myanmar, not via India.

Economics and geopolitics
Added to those concerns were the perspectives of sovereignty, economics and geopolitics. As the three proposed routes are slated only to facilitate transportations of Indian goods from the Indian mainland to the Indian North East via Bangladesh – and impose unbearable pressure on the two ports of the country  – Chittagong and Mongla  – which can barely cope with our own needs at the present – the BNP-led regime insisted on choosing the third route (AH-41). The other two routes (AH-1 and AH-2) being both economically and geopolitically non-viable, and, having serious implications for the nation s sovereignty, the deadline in December 2005 was quietly allowed to pass by.

How can such a decision be faulted  – and reversed without considering its implications – when the 495 kilometers long AH -1 will connect Tamabil, Sylhet, Kachpur, Dhaka, Jessore with Benapole; only to render Bangladesh into an Indian corridor by facilitating connectivity between the Indian states of Tripura and Manipur on one side, with Assam and the West Bengal on the other, by using the territory of another sovereign nation? The same is true of the 805 kilometers long AH- 2 which will connect Banglabandha of Panchagarh, Hati-Kamrul of Sirajganj, Dhaka, Kachpur and reach Tamabil again, only to re-enter India across the Sylhet frontier.

Although the third route, 752-kilometer AH- 41, too will serve to carry goods for India from the Mongla port by connecting Bagerhat via Jessore (and thence to Benapole), it seemed comparatively harmless as it will traverse past Dhaka before proceeding toward Teknaf and Cox s Bazar to eventually connect Myanmar.

An Indian Highway
That is how the connectivity scheme the Government decided to approve will allow construction of an Indian Highway, not an Asian one, given that none of those routes will connect Bangladesh with other Asian nations who are part of the scheme. Barring Myanmar, with which Bangladesh has already arranged bilateral land connectivity, the two other points of connectivity with India neither allow Bangladesh to reach the Tokyo to Ankara Highway (as the Asian Highway is meant to be) nor the other nations who are part of it (Japan, South Korea, (India excepted), Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines, China, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Bhutan, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos and Malaysia).

Besides, there are allegations of Indian influence- peddling in choosing and doggedly pursuing the implementation of the proposed routes. Sources say the AH-1 route will enter Bangladesh from India via the western Benapole frontier and will exit again to India through northeastern Tamabil of Sylhet. That seems to be an Indian Highway stretching from West Bengal to Tripura and Assam.

Likewise, the AH-2 will enter Bangladesh from northwestern Banglabandha frontier and will reach again Tamabil. The two routes entering from and exiting to India are meant to facilitate the huge volume of traffic to and from Indian North Eastern states. Only the third route being an internal (or sub-regional) link to connect southeastern Mongla port with Teknaf near the Myanmar frontier, the previous government wanted the third one to be the main route to bolster our  Look East Policy  that aimed at fostering economic cooperation with Myanmar, China, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Nepal, Bhutan left adrift
Who s behind this highway game and why did it resurrect once again? Sources say India having enormous influence over the UN and its affiliated bodies, Delhi choose to intensify the  politics of highway  since 2004 after Bangladesh commissioned a land port at Banglabandha ( in Panchagargh district) to facilitate exports to Nepal, Bhutan and the Indian North East. The port was expected to increase trading with these nations via the 61 km corridor (between Bangladesh and Nepal) and the 68 km corridor (between Bangladesh and Bhutan).

Following this move from Dhaka, India choose to impose upon Bangladesh, via the UNESCAP, the proposed routes for Asian Highway; two of which (AH-1 and AH-2) were designed to enter Bangladesh only to re-enter India. Only the third route (then known as AH-3) was left to connect Myanmar to allow Bangladesh s exit to the Far East.

Analysts say it was an Indian ploy to obtain corridor through other means. And, coming as it did following Dhaka s negation to export gas to India, Delhi s stance could be summarized as very stubborn:  my way or highway.

However, the lack of Delhi s empathy was too visible to ignore. After all, Dhaka s decision to commission the Banglabandha port came amidst repeated Nepalese insistence to open the land port due to a Nepal-India bilateral agreement preventing Nepalese trucks from directly entering Bangladesh and vice a versa. Those inconveniences were compounded further by the necessity to off load everything from trucks inside India for custom and security inspections.

Not only that. Despite repeated requests to facilitate Nepal-Bangladesh, Bangladesh-Bhutan and Bangladesh   Indian North East connectivity via those corridors, India persistently pursued the UNESCAP to impose on Bangladesh the two routes to serve its own geopolitical and economic interests at the cost of disadvantaging Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

Reliable sources claim that the previous BNP-led regime s negation to comply with the Indian demand for gas, transit, corridor, and, finally, the Asian Highway have had much to do with what followed in Bangladesh since October 2007.

Policy of subservience
That being the backdrop and the reality, the AL-led Government s decision to approve the routes is tantamount to  selling out  our vital national interests, as it testifies to the Government s lack of independence and the magnitude of helplessness borne out of being beholden by something unknown to the public. Fact is: India wants to use Bangladesh territory to connect its mainland with its North East, and, to use Bangladesh s ports for the economic wellbeing of the landlocked North Eastern states. Above everything, India wants to overcome its military handicap in the insurgency-infested North East by using this connectivity.

Hence, for Bangladesh, the decision making mechanism in allowing such a scheme shall be the one used in recent past by both nations. For example, after the devastation of hurricane Sidr, Indian High Commissioner said in response to Bangladesh s demand for rice:  We can not sell rice to Bangladesh keeping our people starved.  Well said. Likewise, amidst unprecedented pressure – even by using senior US diplomats – to obtain gas from Bangladesh in 2003, Dhaka made a realistic assessment of its gas reserve and spare-able capacity and said no to India. That decision too was wise. Six years on, Bangladesh doesn t have enough gas to keep its own industries and electricity generation facilities functional.

Structural inhibitions
Being aware that India s main intent is to serve the entire land-locked North Eastern region comprising seven large states (known as seven sisters) by using the proposed Highway, Bangladesh must calculate the premium involved with respect to traffic-related-logistics and infrastructural repairs, which, cumulatively, will outweigh any expected material gain it may hope for from the venture. Added to the danger to be posed by inadequate capacity of our ports, the future of this project could be suicidal.

Country s main port in Chittagong is overburdened and ageing. It also handles almost eighty-five percent of the country s sea-borne trade. Established in the 15th century, this moth-eaten establishment gained its full potential only after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Of its 15 operational jetties, only 13 are equipped with shore cranes, each having a lifting capacity of only about 1.5 tons. Since 1991, its only floating crane (used for lifting heavier cargos) remained out of order, until recently.

Besides, the river-moorings have no shore cranes and ships berthed at the moorings still use their own derricks or cranes for unloading or loading cargoes. Despite the construction of – or conversion into – few container berths in recent years, the capacity of the port is as yet not sufficient enough to meet our national needs, let alone serve foreign nations. The sinking of a small ship on the entry to the jetty had left the port crippled for weeks over a month ago, further testifying its limitations.

Mongla is incapable
On the other hand, Mongla is not a full-fledged sea port as yet. Even last week the main dock of the port got submerged by the tidal waves caused by the latest hurricane in the Bay. The port is virtually an anchorage to allow ships load and unload their cargoes into barges and coastal ships moored in the middle of the Pussur River. And, the draft of the river being shallow, navigation of large ship remains unsafe as yet, although few new berths built over the years allow light draft vessels to berth at the jetties.

Coupled with the chronic instability caused by an unruly bunch of highly politicized labour force, Mongla port can hardly be trusted to serve foreign interests involving international commitments of a powerful, bellicose neighbour and the consequences of potentially reneging on any binding commitment could prove unmanageable. Besides, the limitations for further modification of the port are compounded by surrounding private properties and stationing of naval ships and naval activities all around.

Based on such realities, any decision by the Government to allow the proposed highways to enter from and exit to India via Bangladesh can lead to devastating consequences, involving serious national security implications. Such a decision may also impact adversely the existing relationships between the two close neighbours to the extent of provoking hostile moves by either side. Whether the Government agrees or not, this is certainly not the highway to heaven. Rather the very opposite of it.

Govt. inert over claim on Continental Shelf

http://www.weeklyholiday.net/2009/220509/front.html

Govt. inert over claim on Continental Shelf

Moinuddin Naser in New York

Though little time is left, the Government is still in slumber and lamentably lagging behind its next-door neighbours in acting on the crucial matter of placing Dhaka’s claim to the appropriate authority on her right over the economic zone in the Bay of Bengal. For Dhaka to do this, only about two months are left. Shouldn’t the Foreign Office have been up and doing by now regarding this vital matter and held a grand national conference of major political leaders, eminent economists, scholars, geographers and so on?

Although Bangladesh will have to submit its claim on continental shelf by July 27, 2011, but prior to that she will have to dispute the claims of India and Myanmar before the 24th session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf this year.

Already India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka have submitted their claim on the Continental Shelf to extend their economic sovereignty on the Bay of Bengal as per Article 76, Part VI of the Law of the Sea Convention. India and Myanmar both have submitted their claim beyond 200 nautical miles (NM) as per provisions.

Myanmar updated the claim on April 30, 2009, while India submitted the claim on May 12, 2009 and Sri Lanka submitted the claim on May 8, 2009. Bangladesh will have to submit its claim or dispute, if any, by August before the beginning of the 24th session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to be held in New York from August 10 to September 11, 2009.

India, Myanmar against Bangladesh
It is gathered that India and Myanmar have articulated a joint strategy to claim their extended continental shelf over Bay of Bengal so that they can preempt Bangladesh’s right over the Bay of Bengal. In fact the Indian institutes helped Myanmar to prepare its claim.

Surprisingly, Myanmar did not seek help from any Chinese institute to prepare the claim this time! Knowledgeable source said Myanmar and India both have got together to establish their extended rights over the Bay of Bengal, while both the countries opposed Bangladesh’s move to lease out the blocks in Bay of Bengal for exploration of oil to the foreign companies.

No paper yet from Dhaka
Bangladesh will have to submit its claim on continental shelf by July 27, 2011. But it will have to dispute the claims of India and Myanmar before the 24th session of the commission this year.

According to the diplomatic circle in New York, Bangladesh is yet to prepare any paper or report disputing the claimed Continental Shelf by India or Myanmar encroaching the vital economic zone of Bangladesh.

Myanmar has made its claim ahead of deadline until May 21, 2009 for submission of its claim, but it submitted ahead of the date. Again, India had time up to June 29, but she has already submitted its claim.

Myanmar claimed in 2008
Myanmar had submitted its claim first on December 16, 2008, which was later updated on April 30, 2009 and now waiting for discussioin the claim in the provisional agenda of the 24th session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

In the introduction to its submission Myanmar stated that this claim is made “to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) pursuant to Article 76, paragraph 8 of the Convention in respect of the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (M) from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Myanmar is measured.”

200 nautical miles
It clearly said: “Myanmar is making its submission for extension of its continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal, off Rakhine, and referred to as Rakhine Continental Shelf, beyond 200 nautical miles.” The country has collected geophysical data from large area for preparation of the submission.

Beyond 200 nautical miles, Yangon will claim at least 60 more nautical miles to satisfy its acquired morphological, geological and tectonic aspects of the data collected from the Bay.

The Goa-based National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) of India which led the Indian side for preparation of the claim, was also engaged for quality control purpose of the Myanmar claim, while National Geophysical research Institute (NGRI) of India helped Myanmar for seismic Data processing and interpretation. Dr N.K Thakur, another consultant, who was former member of the Commission, interpreted acquired geophysical data. Besides, many other institutes of Myanmar were involved.

Continental Shelf
India took nine years to finalize its claim on continental shelf, while the Goa-based national Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research led eight organizations to collect data and process them to prepare the report. The Indian report has extended its sovereignty beyond 200 nautical miles and within 350 nautical from the baseline. In fact India completed its preparation for this submission at list six months ago and that was passed through different stakeholder ministries to obtain their consent.

According to sources, different studies have so far been collected over seven to eight terabytes of data after surveying the Indian marine area divided into lines totalling 30,000 km. The demarcation of the continental shelf was based on Article 76 of the Part VI of the “Law of the Sea Convention” which also includes determination of water depth, sedimentary rock thickness and precise mapping of the foot of the continental slope.

Serious Indo-Bangla dispute
India shares maritime boundaries with Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Among them Myanmar, Bangladesh and Srilanka have water territory in the Bay of Bengal.

India has already negotiated a deal with Myanamar and Sri Lanka, while it has got serious dispute with Bangladesh.

Claiming the continental shelf ‘baseline’ of the coast is very important. That means from which point the 200 nautical miles will be measured.

Bangladesh coastline is very unstable. So Bangladesh demarcated its baseline from a distance of 10 fathom from the shore, which was disputed by both India and Myanmar.

Delhi claims up to 350 NM
Now India is claiming up to 350 nautical miles (NM) from its baseline invoking Article 76 clause V, VI, VII and VIII as continental shelf. This is beyond 200 NM, of the normal territory. If Myanmar extends 60 NM beyond 200 nautical miles and India extends up to 350 nautical miles, the curved coast line may stop Bangladesh to get her outlet.

Sri Lanka also has submitted its claim on the southern part of the Bay of Bengal beyond 200 nautical miles, while the Indian line has passed with short distance of less than 24 nautical miles and as such India has already proposed a ‘separate agreement’ on this issue with Sri Lanka. In fact in terms of establishing claim on the Bay of Bengal Bangladesh has become isolated.

Bangladesh has to resolve the issue on priority basis.